How Patrice Evra has never played the race card and why assumptions are dangerous

October 17, 2011

Football can do a lot of things. It can turn completely stable people into emotional wrecks, it can play with our emotions like nothing else, save perhaps a member of the opposite sex. In short, it’s a very powerful thing. One thing it should not do, however, is to change our perspective. Not footballing perspective, of course you should feel free to argue that your team is better than my team, your fans are louder than my fans, your grass is greener than our grass. But our general perspective, such as the ability to analyse a serious claim, should be unmoved by which football team we hope scores more goals than the other.

On Saturday, Patrice Evra of Manchester United accused Luis Suarez of Liverpool of making racist remarks towards him. Unfortunately, though the ‘of”s in the previous sentence should not be of importance, they have been made so. It has become about football. This is not an incident about football. It took place on a football pitch, between two men wearing football shirts, but it’s not about football. To bastardise a famous Bill Shankly quote, it’s much more important than that.

Immediately after the allegations were made, a lot of people reacted based on which team they supported. United fans were quick to label Suarez a racist, with certainty, whilst Liverpool fans accused Evra of lying, also with certainty.

The latter however, took a somewhat more sinister form. Liverpool fans, and employees, claimed Evra had a history of playing the ‘race card’. For those who don’t know, the race card refers to exploitation of racist attitudes to gain a personal advantage, typically by falsely accusing others of racism against oneself. In essence, they were saying Evra had in the past lied about being targeted by racial abuse. A very serious claim, I’m sure you’ll agree. It stands to reason that if it is a serious thing to claim racist abuse, it is also a serious thing to claim someone has lied about claiming racial abuse.

Liverpool’s official website columnist, Kristian Walsh, claimed on Twitter that “Patrice Evra has accused racism of three players before today. All three have been cleared.” This tweet was retweeted by hundreds of Liverpool fans, as were similar ones. The problem was, that it wasn’t remotely true, not one bit.

In fact, before Saturday, Evra had accused zero people of racism, not the three quoted by Mr. Walsh and dozens of other Liverpool fans, not two, nor even one. There have been two incidents involving Evra and accusations of racial insults, the only problem is that Evra did not claim in either that he was racially abused – the claims came from others.

In the 2006 case of claimed racial abuse by Steve Finnan, the accusation was levelled at Finnan by a deaf fan who claimed he lip-read the racial slur. Evra declined to complain. A rather odd thing to do for a man with a supposed inclination to play the race card, I’m sure you’ll agree.

In the case with involving Chelsea groundsman, Sam Bethell, it was Mike Phelan and Richard Hartis of Manchester United’s coaching staff who claimed they heard the abuse. As the FA report says “The two witnesses who say they heard those words directed by Mr Bethell at Mr Evra are the Manchester United first team coach Mr Mike Phelan and the goalkeeping coach Mr Richard Hartis.” It later goes on to say “Even if we disregard the fact that Mr Evra has never claimed to have heard such a remark on that day, it is notable that there were several other people far nearer to Mr Bethell at the critical point in time than were either Mr Phelan or Mr Hartis.”

So in reality, Evra accused neither Finnan nor Bethell of a racist remark. The claims were made by others. These are the cold, hard facts.

Liverpool is a club that has been hit hard by lies in the past, namely by the despicable Kelvin Mackenzie and The Sun. One might therefore assume that their fans would be careful to ensure that they themselves endeavor to have the full facts of any case emerge. Of course, accusations of racism against Luis Suarez and accusations of the actions of fans on a day where 96 people died are on different scales, however the principle should remain. If in one instance you abhor lies being told where an accusation is made, you should probably endeavor not do so yourself in another instance.

As I touched on earlier, Manchester United fans who have assumed Suarez’s guilt are also worthy of scorn. Just as a lot of Liverpool fans would have reacted differently if Glen Johnson had accused Nemanja Vidic of racist remarks, so too would a lot United fans. Perhaps even incidents involving Johnson and “playing the race card” would have been fabricated.

“Innocent until proven guilty” should not be a changeable stance. If that’s your belief, it’s your belief. It should not be changed because of which football team you prefer. Of course, just as important as “innocent until proven guilty” is that the lack of a guilty verdict does not necessarily mean innocence. In the 1998 adaption of the old play “12 Angry Men”, a juror slowly and painstakingly convinces his fellow jurors not to convict a seemingly guilty man. In the aftermath of the case, he is asked who he believed committed the murder. He replies, to the amazement of the queror, that he thinks it was probably the man he just convinced everyone to acquit.

If, which seems likely, there is found to be not enough evidence, or none, to prove Suarez made racist remarks, inevitably people will assume that Evra was lying. But surely if your initial requirement to the claims that Suarez was racist was “prove it”, the same logic should be applied to the claims that Evra was lying? A lack of proof does not mean an incident has not happened, it simply means it cannot be proven to have happened. As dangerous as it is to assume Suarez is guilty, it is equally as dangerous to conclude Evra is lying if it cannot be proven. It is for this reason that Liverpool as a club have been irresponsible if they have, as has been reported, called for a ban for Evra if the allegations can’t be proven.

The instant reaction of “he’s lying” to an accusation of racism is not only foolish, but dangerous. Chris Kamara has stated that he was frequently racially abused on the football pitch, but would not report it, as it would be impossible to prove and therefore he would not be believed. A report in 2000 by the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs concluded that “there is a fear that when people do report incidents [of racism] they won’t be believed or it won’t be taken seriously”. It is therefore safe to assume that the reaction of people to a claim of racist abuse is quite important, and not merely footballing banter. We are talking about something that can have a severe knock-on effect for other people.

Football is a wonderful thing, but can also be a dangerous thing. When we as football fans are switching our moral views, assuming guilt or fabricating incidents based on the shirt a man is wearing, we have gone too far. We cannot and must not lose perspective because of it. As ridiculous as it is for a man who didn’t have another care in the world on Saturday at 12.45, it is only a game.

SAF: "Rio played very well on Saturday against Liverpool but we have Vidic with us here and I felt it was a good opportunity to give Rio a break. Playing three games in seven days is a lot to ask. We felt it was the right moment to give him a rest."

"I think Wayne's ready. When he came on [against Liverpool] I thought he was bubbly, full of energy and enthusiasm. He was desperate to get on, which was good. I think when he started to watch the game he thought: 'I could be out there.' I think he's okay."

"I don't think anybody expected him [Rooney] to get three games [for England]. It was silly without being seriously dangerous. It was a slight reaction and to get a three-match ban... I think when you realise he misses all the group games for England, it could mean he won't be involved at all. As England have experienced in the last few years, it's not easy to qualify in the major championships and I think that resonated on Wayne's mind."

"All the games are important to us. The Premier League is an important tournament to win, just like the Champions League. But I have a big squad and what I tried to do on Saturday was play a team to start the game and then have players on the bench who could win the game. I was ready to make the changes just before Liverpool scored and if they hadn't scored I think we could have won the game."

"We spoke to Patrice today and he was adamant he wanted to follow it on [complaint against Luis Suarez]. It's not an easy one because everybody knows Manchester United and Liverpool have great responsibility. I thought Saturday was great in the stands and both sets of fans deserve praise for that. But Patrice feels very aggrieved by what was said to him and now it rests in the hands of the FA. There are very few examples of racism in England over the years. I don't think it's an issue for the game itself. There's just the odd example and this is what may have surprised Patrice Evra. We don't want to see it."

"We've watched Galati a few times and I watched the video of them against Benfica. There wasn't much in the game. Their system is like a lot of systems in Europe - they play with two wide men and one through the middle, one midfielder in the hole... a lot of European teams are playing this way now. In the Benfica game there wasn't a lot between the teams and Galati were unlucky not to get a draw. We've got a good idea about how the game should be played tomorrow and we hope we can get the result we want. It's difficult to say whether or not it's a must-win game. I guess it depends on what happens in the other tie. The important thing is for us to win. That solves all the problems."

"Tomorrow and then Sunday are two important games. We have to progress in the Champions League but we have four or five days to recover for Sunday's game against Manchester City. The timescales for recovery are perfect for us. Fitness-wise we shouldn't have any problems in terms of recovery. I don't think the team I pick tomorrow will have much bearing on Sunday."

Also some excellent contribuitions from 'Scouser' Stu. Welcome mate, this is how opposing fans should discuss matters, just like I do with mates who support all sorts of clubs that I 'hate'. Liverpool supporters like you should always be welcome on this site, Stu. All the best mate. .

slim - Yes mate. I loved that comment from Pogba about Mancunian spirit that you linked last week. He won't be going anywhere. He is at least getting into the squad. He will be more than happy at present.

you are right pal, FA wont even go near the bottom of it, if they will be honest on this, the PL image is up for a toss, already dealing the rooney case, FA wont dig it to the bottom of this racism, plus its a UNITED player who is claiming, do we need to say more?

You are welcome. They won't. And they can't really. It's Evra's word vs Suarez's. No other witnesses by the looks of it. They'll just try to get the two of them to shake hands to preserve the league's good image. :roll:

I gave myself a 24 hour cooling off period before posting about the match (and then some) but I was very disappointed with the squad selection. This bollox of Rooney's "head not being right" is a god damned joke. Why was he even on the bench then? Was there a message to be sent to him? Doubt it. We set out for a draw and got exactly that, thanks in large part to a fine display from our young keeper.

I'll be the first one to put my arm in the air and give credit where it's due, Sir Alex Ferguson is the best fucking manager ever, but I can't sit here and say I wasn't baffled/annoyed/disheartened etc by the team we sent out. Welbeck as a lone striker? Their defense is/was and will be shit. Put them to the fucking sword for god's sake.

Maybe it was the horrible hangover, maybe it was the fact it was 7:30am eastern standard time but good christ, our best player should've started against those filthy scum. If his head was right to come off the bench, it was right to start the match.

That's all I'll say on it. I may be way off from the mean here but I was very disappointed at the starting XI and I'm confident we could've gotten a better result had Rooney played 90 minutes.

I know, I know. Competing on many fronts, long season, a point at Anfield is a point well earned, etc. I'm just finally venting my frustration at the set up. We agree then, we went for a point hoping to earn something more. Didn't happen, aw shucks, get'em next time and see where the table lies in March.

These are all of the thoughts that were trying to make their way through a head clouded with Guiness and Jager on a very fucking early Saturday morning. I've said my peace and ultimately have to agree with every decision Lord Ferguson makes because, well, he's right 99% of the time.

Giggsy, seriously though mate? I'll have to check the tale of the tape but with a brainfart like that, I'd be almost certain he was there shutting down the local wattering hole with myself and my mates Friday evening....well, Saturday morning :(

Just something to get off my chest. I was pissed with the team sheet. Nuff said. It just chaffs my sack to have to look at that joke of a "project" sitting top of the table for a week.

Sandeep - Imo Fergie did the right thing. A point at Anfield when they have their cupfinal is a good achievement and I don't care how average they are. They always play there best game of the season against us.

We have a crucial game midweek like you said and we need 3 points maybe make a statement in that group. Then it's all about bragging rights and 3 points over fuckin berties.

I don't know if anyone has noticed but according to BBC Evra is going to pursue the allegations.

Although I didn't believe it for one minute, the notion that he invented the allegations has surely passed. He has consulted Sir Alex Ferguson and at some stage the exact words is bound to have come up.

Agree entirely with this. As predicted it has just descended into a slanging match on social media sites based on what team you support. What makes me laugh is how every fan claims to know all about their said idols just because they play for their team.

I've heard garbage such as "Suarez would never do such a thing. Its not in his nature" - and how would you know this then? Oh yes it's because he plays for Liverpool.

I feel the FA will properly play a lack of evidence card cos they might actually have to make a big decision for once. It'll get swept under the carpet. If that was the case then morons amongst us will immediately claim that Evra must have been lying rather than the simple fact there was no audio to prove it.

More guilty now that he wants to pursue, please a sense of reality, a backtrack would have had huge implications on Evra's integrity if he didn't pursue, remember Man Utd are supporting him but not helping him, Evra did say television replay would help him, we now know this is not the case, following it up will end up being not proven and will always be over Suarez which is sad but what can he do. It's a pick side situation but evidence looks way more kindly too Suarez like it or not.

So if Suerez is guilty and i'm sure if you look at you tube at the evidence you dont need to be a lip reader to sadly understand what Suerez is saying and on more than 1 occasion. Then what is gonna happen to him? How can Liverpool stand by such a player. What sort of a club stands by such disgraceful comments. How can he play in the premiership again. He would be a branded Racist. Will the police get involved. Will the FA really make a point of this and prove they stand by there RESPECT campagne. Racism needs to be booted out of football and if Suerez is seen to be proven guilty will the FA and Liverpool have the balls to boot him out. bans and fines dont work for this one. If a fan is found guilty he is banned for life and arrested and put on the racism list. Even jailed. If Suerez gets away with this what message is football sending out to the world.

Brilliant article by Sean O'Sullivan. It's outrageous that a Liverpool FC official journalist would put out this slanderous, libellous myth about Patrice Evra.

So here are the facts: Liverpool FC are putting out lies to discredit Patrice Evra in an attempt to belittle his very serious allegations that one of their players repeatedly racially abused him. CLASSY!

Brett1985 - well Patrice Evra is not a liar and contrary to a myth that is doing the rounds - a myth apparently started by a journalist who is on the payroll of Liverpool FC - he has NEVER made such accusations about another player before.

Why would Evra make up such a thing? He has received worse physical treatment than that which he got from Suarez on Saturday many times in the past (from the likes of Kevin Davies, for example) but not once has he responded by levelling accusations of racist abuse at any of his opponents.

I hope other players who have been subjected to racial abuse from Suarez step forward and speak out against him.

What i find funny is that Liverpool are calling for evra to be investigated if this is proved wrong. LOL. what exactly are they investigating. If evra was wrong then he lied and then punishment can be handed out but what exactly are they investigating? Do they think United put him up to this? LMAO. plus how on earth would evra just come out and say stuff like that if did not hear suarez call him that? suarez is not the first player that evra has had a battle with so why on earth would he evra be pursuing a vendetta? Some pple can be seriously deranged in the brain.

Suarez ran rings round Evra and that led to frustration which led to a yellow card.
The accusation was just down to frustration after being carded. If it was true why didnt he complain at the time. Poor loser Evra

Brilliant article Scott. Actualli in Scotland their laws are a little different to our country. I a court of law we in this country have only two findings guilty and innocent where as in Sc otland they have three. Guilty, innoecent and the third not proven. Not proven means as it implies a person may be guilty but it has not been proved. Bearing in mind Kenny Dalglish is Scottish I find it unbelievable that he does not even know the laws of his own country. Perhaps Dalglish would be better advised attending reading lessons and at least learn what this term not proven means. But as is typical of this pathetic club they suffer from an over inflated sense of their own importance. They are without doubt the most irresponsible club in world football.

Don't talk to me about reality whenever you are asking me to entertain the possibility that Evra has fabricated this whole incident out of nothing.

A prolonged argument on the pitch, a talking to by the ref, a 'hand of friendship' from Suarez rejected abruptly by Evra. Arguments that continued for several minutes between Kuyt, Suarez and Evra before Evra was booked. Consultation between Ferguson and Evra after the game. Escalating the incident by going to the referee to complain about a racist remark. Repeating the allegation in the media on canal plus. The following day Ferguson affirming that Evra will be pursuing the matter.

The last point is especially salient. Our lawyers are bound to have looked into the incident. Ferguson is bound to have taken full stock of the situation. This isn't just on Evra now. Everyone has bought into this, everyone has to be sure.

If Evra made this up from the beginning it is just one crazy conspiracy theory. Is that reality?

To infer that Evra is continuing down this path to cover up a lie is by now ludicrous.

The fact that in the cold light of day Evra, Ferguson, the club, the referee and the football association are all taking this seriously says a lot.

And it completely eliminates the prospect of misconstruction or misunderstanding. Everyone at Manchester United now knows and I'm guessing that it is going to have to have been the 'n' word that was used.

And by the way proof is needed under the regulations of the football association but not so much in my eyes.

First of all I tend to believe Evra not just because I am a united fan but based on the facts that I outlined above.

Second the football association can come up with all manner of strange decisions regardless of the evidence in a case. I can't say I've respected a number of their judgments against united and it would be inconsistent of me to put stock in any of their findings. So it really doesn't matter to me if we have proof or not.

Based on the circumstancial evidence I've all the proof I need. I'm not that concerned what Liverpool fans make of it. Evra will get on with his career regardless and if Suarez ends up getting a ban which I imagine will be 5 or so matches at worst then so be it.

In reality he should probably be sacked for racist remarks but he is indespensible so it isn't going to happen.